Over 35 years ago, the Framingham Study noted a correlation between low LDL and increased cancer incidence. Follow-up data, presented March 25, 2012, at the American College of Cardiology’s 61st annual scientific session, revealed that low LDL cholesterol, in patients with no history of taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, predates cancer risk by decades. Another study, published in BJU International, found that low blood cholesterol before treatment for renal cell carcinoma, was associated with more advanced tumor stages and cancer spread during follow-up. Also, patients with high cholesterol had a 43 percent lower risk of dying from their cancer compared with patients with low cholesterol. Finally, including patients’ cholesterol levels with traditional risk factors increased the accuracy of prognoses.
Although the mechanism has not been elucidated, a significant amount of data has confirmed that low cholesterol, specifically low LDL is associated with an increased risk for cancer, and in the case of renal cell carcinoma, more aggressive disease. The current line of thought in conventional medicine is, “there is no LDL that is too low.” There is, however, a plethora of data to refute this philosophy. My personal recommendation to physicians, is do not treat them as if they are only a cardiovascular system. Lipid metabolism plays a role in multiple organ systems, as well as in basic cellular function. If the patient has no cardiovascular disease, as determined by cardiac calcium scoring and/or CT angiogram, leave elevated LDLs alone. Their elevated LDL just may be protecting them from cancer! – ~ Dr. Rosenberg
The following article from Wiley and published in Science Daily
Low cholesterol linked with worse survival in patients with kidney cancer
People are often told to reduce their cholesterol to improve their heart health, but new research suggests that low cholesterol may increase kidney cancer patients’ risk of dying from their disease. The findings, which are published in BJU International, indicate that cholesterol testing may help doctors as they monitor and treat patients with kidney cancer.
Increasing evidence suggests that alterations in cholesterol and other lipids are associated with the development, progression, and prognosis of various cancers. To assess the situation as it relates to kidney cancer, Tobias Klatte, MD, of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, and his colleagues analyzed total blood cholesterol levels in 867 patients with renal cell carcinoma before they underwent kidney surgery. The investigators then followed the patients for a median of 52 months.
Low blood cholesterol before treatment was associated with more advanced tumor stages and cancer spread during follow-up. Also, patients with high cholesterol had a 43 percent lower risk of dying from their cancer compared with patients with low cholesterol. Finally, including patients’ cholesterol levels with traditional risk factors increased the accuracy of prognoses.
It’s unclear how cholesterol may affect a kidney cancer patients’ prognosis. It may be that certain components of cholesterol impact the activity of cancer-related pathways to affect tumor growth and spread.
“As this was a hypothesis-generating study, our findings should be confirmed in independent datasets. If confirmed, patients with low cholesterol may be considered high-risk and may be treated or followed up more aggressively,” said Dr. Klatte.
Journal Reference:
healthyliving May 9th, 2017
Posted In: cancer care, Cancer Prevention
Tags: kidney cancer, ldl
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Dr. Mark Rosenberg received his doctorate from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1988 and has been involved with drug research since 1991.